Hornets fall to Blazers for second-straight 5-3 WSC Gold loss

 

 

CLICK TO SEE MATCH PHOTO ALBUM

CLICK HERE FOR HINSDALE SOUTH'S TEAM PAGE

 

By Curt Herron

James VanDenburgh liked the way that his Hinsdale South team started and ended Thursday's match at Addison Trail.

But the only problem was that the Hornets coach saw plenty during the rest of the contest that left him unhappy.

South took an early 1-0 lead and scored the final two goals, but in between those highlights it was all Blazers.

Addison Trail grabbed a 2-1 halftime lead and added three more scores to build an insurmountable 5-1 advantage.

Although the Hornets made things interesting late, the damage had been done and the hosts captured a 5-3 victory.

It was the second 5-3 West Suburban Conference Gold Division road defeat that South had suffered in three days.

On Tuesday, the Hornets allowed five goals against Leyden in their initial league match of the campaign.

Needless to say, that type of defensive play isn't going to prove successful against most other programs.

And in the competitive WSC Gold, it's a guarantee for defeat, as VanDenburgh and his staff know all too well.

"In the past two games, we compound on our mistakes and before we know it, we're down by three or four goals," VanDenburgh said. "That puts a lot of pressure on our offense.

"It's hard to win games when you aren't defensively intense for the entire game. Addison Trail did a great job of taking advantage of the opportunities that we gave them.

"I'd like to say that we're young or inexperienced but it's been the same defense almost the whole year. The guys need to realize their mistakes and let them happen again.

"It definitely wasn't a good effort on our end. I'd like a lot more from our guys and see them go a full 80 minutes and play a complete game at this point in the season."

It was the fourth loss in the last five outings for South (1-6-2, 0-2), which has yielded 17 goals in that span.

Meanwhile, things are looking up for the Blazers (8-3, 2-1), who defeated Downers Grove South 3-0 on Tuesday.

"We had a nice win against Downers Grove South which I felt was our best game played so far," AT coach Pete Ginter said. "I didn't think we played well in the first half against Hinsdale South, but with a few tactical adjustments and strengthening our possession game, we came out with four goals to take a 5-1 lead.

"We had a few defensive lapses near the end of the game, when we substituted many starters, but it was good enough for a win. We are working toward more consistency in our possession game which will be essential when we play a crucial conference game against powerhouse Morton next Tuesday."

The brightest spot for the Hornets happened during the final 20 minutes of the match when they battled hard.

Down 5-1 at that time, it would have been easy to throw in the towel and prepare for the trip back to Darien.

But South got a couple of scores back and just missed closing to within a goal as AT tried to close things out.

The Hornets got a spark in the late going when their backup keeper, sophomore Mike Meyers, entered the match.

After starter Paras Patel left briefly on a yellow card shortly before the half's midpoint, Meyers stepped in.

He quickly stopped a pair of dangerous tries off corner kicks and later halted a couple of close-range shots.

AT did get one past him in the 65th minute, but he couldn't do much once Marco Medina got free of defenders.

The Hornets made it 5-2 in the 71st minute when T.J. Kubiesa was fouled in the box as he tried for a header.

He made the subsequent penalty kick, sparking a stretch in which the visitors would score a pair of goals.

South's final score came in the 74th minute when Velislov Kiporv connected off of an Adam Garcia free kick.

Later, Kubiesa was denied by a Blazer defender and attempts by Jeremy Leganski and Kyle Murbach went wide.

After Alex Baciu got fouled in the box following a late breakaway, the Blazers were awarded a penalty kick.

But George Leyva's quest for a hat trick was denied when his try was stopped by Patel, who had reentered.

"We ask of any sub that goes in to not any mistakes and to make an impact on the game," VanDenburgh said. "I looked at the bench sand said, 'who wants in?', and Mike said, 'Me, coach'.

"He was bouncing around and ready to go right away and that's the kind of energy that we needed to show, and that's sometimes hard to get when you're down like we were.

"I like the combination that we have but the guys just need to get on the same page quicker. Soccer is a game of mistakes and it's about realizing and fixing them and let letting them compound."

South started quickly, getting a liner from Garcia that keeper Jesse Avelar deflected about five minutes in.

That set up a corner by Joey Gangi, who sent a ball in front that was put in by Leganski in the sixth minute.

Addison Trail responded to that score with attempts from Elias Leyva and George Leyva that Patel stopped.

A short time later, Elias Leyva had a try cleared by Kenny Ida and sent in another shot that was hauled in.

The hosts finally were able to even things up during the 19th minute when George Leyva fired in a line dive.

Kubiesa was stopped on two tries, Gangi saw a corner halted and GianCarlo Cianelli's free kick was denied.

AT moved ahead in the 37th minute when George Leyva sent a pass to Javier Rodriguez, who hit a short shot.

Leganski and Kubiesa both saw good chances get turned away during the first seven minutes of the final half.

Shortly before the midway mark of the second half, AT scored a pair of goals in a span of just 86 seconds.

Javier Valdez connected in the 57th minute and George Leyva scored in the 59th minute to break things open.

The Hornets kick off a three-match week when they play host to Willowbrook on Tuesday in WSC Gold action.